Hear a Different Drummer
by Crimson Cutie
Summary: Demyx has a problem: he was supposed to defeat Sora or die trying but instead of dying he ran away. Fortunately he comes up with a solution, a rather unusual one...
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: **I don't own or claim any rights to Kingdom Hearts. This work is purely fandom for entertainment purposes. The title is taken from a quote by Thoreau.

The title quote comes from a thesaurus listed under synonyms for not conforming or leaving the beaten path. I liked the musical aspect and I thought it fit Demyx's personality quite well. Plus "off the beaten path" is probably what I'm going to end up doing with the Kindgom Hearts II storyline.

Of all the stories I'm working on right now this was both the easiest to write but the one where I have the least clue exactly where it's going. It's also the one I had the most fun with- I had way too much fun writing this. I started this story prior to playing 358/2 days, so the Organization's characterizations (especially Demyx's) are based on the few scenes they had in Kingdom Hearts II.

I would like to thank my boyfriend for help proofreading this.

**Prologue**

It wasn't until after the portal had deposited a bleeding half-dead Demyx away from the center of raging battle of Hollow Bastion, that the full impact of what he'd done occurred to the Nobody. He'd run away again and this time he'd had specific orders not to. Silently cursing his survival instinct, he climbed slowly to his feet. He knew what he should do: go back and finish things. The very idea made him sick. Right now he stood absolutely no chance. He doubted he'd stand much of one recovered but it'd be better than nothing. An explosion from the battle sounded through the air and made him jump. Realizing he hadn't exactly picked the best place to retreat he managed to summon another dark portal.

There was something comforting about the warm beach at Atlantica. It was actually the first place he expected them to look for him, but since no one except the Melodious Nocturne could stand a world known for its singing fish people, hopefully it would be awhile before they bothered to come and deal with him. After all Demyx doubted he was high on the Organization's priority list. Lacking the energy to do much else he collapsed on the beach. He'd give it a day. One night to recover then he'd search out Roxas' other and finish what he'd started.

**Chapter 1**

Sora's head was full of thoughts. Had the man in black really been Riku? Or was it Organization XIII? He tried not to worry about it. First they had to warn Shang and stop the dragon, then he could figure out if Riku was really there.

"Hey wait up!"

Sora turned around to see a disappearing portal of darkness and an Organization member limping after him. With his hood down, Sora was able to easily recognize the mullet headed Nobody he'd last seen fleeing after losing their battle in Hollow Bastion. "It's the kook." The brunette remarked.

"Now that's just plain rude," the kook protested. For a being without emotions, he looked pretty insulted. "I have a name you know." He crossed his arms and of all things a pout appeared on his face. Suddenly his body jerked in an exaggerated movement as something occurred to him, "Oh! Wait! I never told you my name, it's Demyx. "

At least he didn't insult Sora's intelligence by spelling it. (Sora was perfectly capable of spelling a word like Axel without help.) Still, Sora found himself wondering why the enemy was bothering to introduce himself and more importantly what he wanted.

"What do _you_ want?" Donald beat him to the punch. At least this is what Sora assumed he said. The duck could be rather hard to understand when worked up.

"A rematch."

Sora's already wide eyes got even bigger. Now that Demyx had gotten closer to them Sora could see the Nobody was nowhere near recovered from their last fight. In addition to the noticeable limp he held himself funny as though his body was still sore or in pain. He had proven to be a better attacker in their second fight, but Sora knew Demyx was no match him even at full health. It wasn't that Sora objected to fighting the Nobodies when they attacked him. They were after all beings without hearts that didn't truly exist and were causing a lot of damage to the worlds. But beating up one who was already badly injured to start with seemed unnecessarily cruel. "You want to fight now?" he asked, "You sure you don't want to wait until you're feeling better? I don't mind," he finished confident he'd be able to take the water wielding Nobody even when his foe was at his best.

Demyx gave an exaggerated shrug. "Can't be helped. I didn't mean to run away before I just kinda panicked. I can't go back till I win. I had orders to defeat you or die trying. If I disobey I'm in big trouble." He admitted.

Sora opened his mouth to protest that there was no way the dirty-blond Nobody had a chance of winning when, with a sinking feeling in his stomach, it hit him: no matter how weird Demyx was he wasn't foolish enough to believe he could win like this. Rather the Nobody was challenging him now to accomplish the latter part of the mission. Demyx fully expected to die. The idea that someone would come to him looking for death made Sora feel sick. Sure he'd fought a lot of enemies, but he didn't think of himself as a killer.

"Gwarsh, can't you just hide somewhere and recover then come back and fight us?" asked Goofy. It seemed the Sora wasn't the only one who didn't feel right fighting a badly injured Nobody.

Demyx almost looked sad as he shook his head. "No good, long as my proof is blue they'll know I still exist and come after me. I'd rather die at your hands then theirs, I may not be the most useful member but at least I'm loyal. I'm not a traitor." Sora had a feeling the last statement was directed at him, but he didn't take offense to it. Seeing as how he was never a member of the Organization he didn't know how the term could apply to him.

Mulan cleared her throat. "I hate interrupt, but we really need to go warn Shang quickly."

"Come on," Demyx urged, "this will be quick."

Sora found himself reluctantly agreeing to a rematch. Figuring it would be an easy battle he decided to fight the Nobody one on one without Donald or Goofy's help. Demyx was right, the battle was quick, even with Sora generously allowing him time to fire off some easily dodged water attacks (the Nobody was moving much slower than usual). Demyx took exactly one hit from the keyblade and fell over. He didn't get up. He made a pitiful sight: bleeding the black blood of Nobodies both from his stomach where Sora had landed the hit and elsewhere where the fall reopened previous wounds. Hands clutched around his new wound he watched Sora helplessly.

Sora raised his blade to end things once and for all and hesitated. He stared at the sea-green eyes of his opponent. Could he really strike the guy down in cold blood? Before Sora could make up his mind Demyx called out in a small voice, "Wait! I don't want to die."

Donald snorted, "That's not what you said before."

"I know. I know what I said and I meant it but right now all I can think is: I don't want to die, I don't want to die." Oddly enough while Demyx's voice normally seemed to convey emotion he wasn't supposed to be able to feel, now when any normal person's voice would be cracking with emotion, Demyx sounded hollow, empty, and emotionless. Sora found himself unable to finish Demyx off. With a quick glance to a scowling Donald, nodding Goofy and confused Mulan the keybearer lowered his weapon. He slowly backed away from the Nobody whose life he'd just spared.

"Well, now what?" Donald's exasperation was evident in his tone. Sora shrugged truly at a loss. He looked back over his shoulder to where Demyx sat unmoving. The Nobody's face lacked any emotion.

"I...I have some bandages in my pack," Mulan spoke up tentatively. Clearly she was confused about whether she should help the guy or not. Sora gave a slight nod and she moved to help the fallen man.

The trio moved close together. "Now what?' Donald repeated. "We can't just let him go. What if he causes more trouble?" he pointed out.

"What do you suggest, we take him with us?" Goofy asked.

"Of course not!" Donald quickly shot back.

"Well, if we can't let him get away or take him with us what do we do with him?" Sora cut in. There was a long pause as all pondered the answer.

At last it was Goofy who spoke up with, "Why can't we take him with us?"

"What?" Sora and Donald cried out together.

"Well, if we can't leave him here, we should take him with us. We know Sora can beat him easily if he tries anything."

Goofy's logic made some sense but, "Then what, what do we do with him?" Sora asked.

"Gwarsh I don't know. Maybe the King will."

They probably would have debated the subject much longer had Sora not noticed Mulan had finished bandaging the Nobody and was looking impatiently down the mountain. Sora gave a quiet sigh, "we don't have time for this now. Let's just take him with us. We can figure out what to do with him once we've dealt with the dragon." Donald scowled but gave a slight nod.

They walked back toward the other two. Mulan paced next to the Nobody who was still sitting on the ground. "Demyx," Sora called quietly. The Nobody turned his head to look at the keyblade wielder. Sora was struck by how empty Demyx looked. "We don't trust you, so you're coming with us." He tried to sound firm leaving no room for argument even though he knew if Demyx wanted to, even injured as he was, he could easily portal away. Demyx nodded. He climbed slowly to his feet with Mulan's help.

Sora had worried that the injured Nobody would slow them down. But as it turned out their situation reminded him of the old story of the tortoise and hare. While Sora, Donald, Goofy and Mulan could travel much quicker like the hare, they also found themselves having to stop and fight heartless. Demyx moved at a much slower pace, but the Nobody and heartless ignored each other allowing ample time for Demyx to catch up and even temporarily pass the others. Slow and steady might not win this race but it did allow Demyx to keep up quite nicely.

They had gone a while without any heartless ambushes and subsequently Demyx had fallen quite a distance behind, when Mulan approached Sora and said quietly, "I know you want to keep any eye on him, but I don't want him entering the palace, especially if you don't trust him. I won't put the Emperor in danger."

"Okay," Sora quickly agreed. "It's not like we can actually stop him from leaving if he wants to. I don't even know why he's going along with this." he admitted to the female soldier. He shot a glance over his shoulder to the figure limping down the path. Demyx had not said a word since begging Sora not to kill him. Ever since then he'd been acting as completely devoid of emotion as one would expect of a Nobody. Sora couldn't figure out what he was thinking and had no idea if the guy had some plan up his sleeve.

"Maybe he thinks he owes you for sparing his life."

"Maybe." Sora was doubtful.

Mulan opened her mouth to say more but at that moment an assault rider heartless spawned directly in front of them and all conversation was forgotten in favor of dodging his large spear.

By the time they reached the palace Demyx was looking no different (other than slightly worse for wear from his trek down the mountain). Sora was beginning to wonder if the Nobody was in shock from almost dying. He was also beginning to doubt that bringing to the guy with them was a good idea. "Um, we have to go see the Emperor. Stay here and don't cause any trouble." He instructed. He had no clue if Demyx would follow his instructions and stick around but he supposed in the end it didn't really matter.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

When confronted by Sora and allies rather than simply portal away, Xigbar decided to summon his sniper nobodies as distraction so the Freeshooter could slip away on foot. Portaling in front of enemies had not been banned per se, but after the disaster of King Mickey jumping into Xemnas' portal before it fully closed, it was now strongly discouraged. (It had taken nearly an hour of portaling before the white haired Nobody had managed to shake the mouse.) Xigbar's strategy worked perfectly. He took a moment to congratulate himself on his quick thinking. All it would take is one quick stop outside to make sure the dragon was on target. Then he'd portal somewhere safe to watch the battle to ensure that Sora was successful in liberating the heart. If he were capable of joy, he would be feeling quite gleeful at how close they were in obtaining Kingdom Hearts. Just a few more weeks of Sora defeating heartless and they'd be there.

Out of the corner of his eye he caught a silhouette of a figure in a black coat. Even with the hood up he instantly recognized Demyx. Only Demyx, Axel and himself had coats that fit tightly to the shoulders and arms and the figure wasn't tall or skinny enough to be Axel. At the thought of mischief, a smile appeared on the older Nobody's face. Unable to stop himself (and not truly wanting to) he silently teleported behind the figure.

"Boo!" grabbing Demyx's shoulder he was satisfied with how far the kid jumped. No doubt about it Demyx was by far the jumpiest Organization member and thus the best to sneak up on.

"Xigbar," Demyx whirled awkwardly around his hood falling down. "They sent you?"

"What are you talking about kid? What are you doing here and Good Lord! What happened to you?" Xigbar finished noticing what terrible shape the kid was in.

Demyx ignored the question."They didn't send you after me?"

"Huh? Kid, what happened to you?" Xigbar repeated.

Demyx shrugged, "I fought Roxas. I lost."

"I can see that. Come on dude you can come back with me, I'll help fix you up."

Demyx winced. "I can't go back. I have to fight him again."

"You're not going to last like that. Let's go back."

"No," Demyx repeated forcefully, "I'm not allowed back, not till I win."

"You won't be winning like this." Xigbar put his hand on Demyx shoulder, a gesture he remembered could be seen as comforting. "I'm sure that they'll let you back to recover first."

"No," Demyx repeated. He shrugged off Xigbar's hand and ducked his head which hid his face from the other's view. "Superior made it quite clear, I'm not welcome back unless I win."

Xigbar cursed silently to himself. What was Xemnas thinking? He knew the answer to the that question and that was the problem. Why Xemnas would sent Demyx after Sora when they weren't done with the keyblade wielder yet. Eventually they would destroy the wielder and teach Roxas what happens when you betrayed the Organization. But they couldn't do that until Kingdom Hearts was complete. So Xemnas would only send Demyx after Sora if he was sure number Nine would lose. With orders to "win or don't come back" it was clear Xemnas was getting rid of Nine.

Xigbar was surprised at how strongly echoes of anger coursed through him. Sure Nine had the worst track record when it came to missions but he was loyal, a trait which in number Two's opinion was seriously undervalued and lacking in far too many members. Throughout the mess that was the Castle Oblivion affair, Roxas' betrayal and now Axel 's recent behavior, Demyx had never given them any reason to doubt his loyalties. And now Xemnas had all but sent the kid on a suicide mission just because he screwed up a few, okay lots of times, but still he deserved better. He deserved to get his heart back.

Both men were momentarily distracted by Sora and his odd traveling companions rushing out of the palace and attacking the heartless dragon. Xigbar couldn't help but think, _Nine is no match for this_, as he was watched the keybearer land a solid hit on the dragon's face. A glance at Demyx suggested that the blonde was thinking the same thing. "Kid you can't fight him like this." Xigbar stated the obvious.

"I know. But if I don't I'll be labeled a traitor and Saix will hunt me down." Xigbar had always been secretly impressed with just how well the Melodious Nocturne could fake emotion and this was no exception. If he didn't know better, he'd swear the younger man was truly miserable.

"I'll try and buy you some time. I'll tell them you're planning on taking down the Keybearer as soon as you're able. With Axel still running renegade we've got bigger fish to fry." Xigbar ran a hand through his hair. Now Demyx's fake emotions were getting to him. It was almost like he actually cared for the kid. "Just keep your head down. Another couple of weeks and this will all be over. In the mean time hang in there kid. And go clean yourself up, you look terrible. " Reaching into his pocket he pulled out a potion Vexen had created special for nobodies. He tossed it to Demyx. "Here, I've got a spare."

"Thanks, Xigbar." The Nocturne quickly downed the contents. Xigbar shook his head but felt almost pleased. Demyx was soon back to his old self, fake cheerfulness dripping from every pore.

Together the two watched as Sora and the local girl landed a final blow on the heartless. Once the heart was safely appropriated into Kingdom Hearts, Xigbar opened a portal. "Guess that's my cue to head back. Be careful kid. Remember, you promised to play for me once we got our hearts back." He stepped through the portal before Demyx could reply, wondering if he'd ever see the kid again. The way things had been going lately it didn't seem likely.

* * *

Sora had noticed that Demyx didn't seem to be around when they ran back outside to fight the dragon, but he'd been too distracted to spare the Nobody a second thought. It wasn't until after the dragon had been defeated and the trio had said their goodbye's to Shang, the Emperor and Mulan that they decided to look for him.

"That Nobody isn't here," Goofy stated the obvious as they looked around the courtyard. "I wonder where he got to?"

"Good riddance," Donald scoffed, his feeling on the subject quite clear.

"Now, that's not very nice!" cried a familiar voice from behind them. Sora turned around to take in the sight of Demyx sitting on a low wall. He looked like he'd been there all along but Sora knew this wasn't the case. The Nobody appeared to be in slightly better condition than they'd left him and now had a goofy grin that looked quite at home on his face. Demyx swung his legs forward and jumped off the wall wincing as he landed. "Oww! Won't try that again till my ribs recover," he mumbled mostly to himself. He still walked with a limp but even it seemed improved from before. An easy going smile in place he made his way over to the trio. "Good job with that dragon. Kingdom Hearts will love a heart that size." He didn't seem to notice the glares directed his way. "So, where are we going next?'

Donald started sputtering something about the "we" but before the duck could manage to get out a coherent statement, Sora cut it with, "Why are you following us?"

"Because you told me to."

"But, we can't stop you from leaving, and I don't trust you. What are you up to?" Sora demanded.

Demyx gave another of his exaggerated shrugs. "Nothing, at first I was just following because I didn't have anything better to do," he admitted, "but I've been thinking, if I stick with you- you can protect me from any Organization members who come after me. Not on purpose of course," he quickly clarified, "but if they have to fight you anyways and if you beat them, then they won't be able to kill me." After a moment's pause he added, "Just until I'm well enough to fight you again." He gave them an innocent looking smile and let his words sink in.

Sora blinked, "Wait a minute you want us to let you come with us so we can protect you? You're a bad guy."

"That's just rude," Demyx protested. "It's more like former bad guy anyways," he corrected, "I'm sort of not in the Organization at the moment." Sora stared hard at Demyx. _Did he really need help or was this just a trick?_ "Please!" the Nobody suddenly pleaded. "Please take with you, if Saix or someone like that comes for me I'm a goner!"

Sora could feel his heart being pulled by the heartless man's pleas. He knew Donald wouldn't like it but they did need to keep an eye on the Nobody, "If you promise to behave and stay out of trouble you can come."

Demyx brightened "I promise, as long as you don't make me betray the Organization. I'm not a member at the moment but I won't turn on them." Sora could almost hear an unspoken "like you" at the end of the sentence.

The keyblade wielder turned to his two traveling companions, "Is it okay with you guys?"

"Yup."

"I guess."

"Yay!" The strange man cheered. Dusting off his coat he shot them a wide fake grin. He limped over to stand next to Sora. Placing his arm around the brunette's shoulders he asked again, "So where are we going next?"

Sora shrugged off the unwelcome arm, "Back to the gummy ship I guess." _What had he gotten himself into?_

* * *

AN: I didn't want to delay too much in the getting this chapter posted. Unfortunately, I'm afraid from this point on updates will probably be sparse until at least May as I will have very little time to write this semester. Next chapter will be from Demyx's point-of-view.


	3. Chapter 3

I'm about as busy as I expected I'd be this semester but I have managed to find a little time most weeks to do some writing. Actually I've had this chapter written for awhile but I've decided to find a beta reader, self proofing just wasn't working. That process took a awhile but at last I can present Chapter 3 freshly revised with the help of my beta: _Katarina Krahe. _

**Chapter 3**

Tagging alone with Roxas was beginning to seem like was one of his ideas that, though apparently brilliant at first, became less and less intelligent the longer he thought about it. A memory of a certain botched mission came to mind and he could just picture Zexion shaking his head and saying "I wish you'd think these things through more, Nine." But then, Demyx reminded himself that Zexion was gone and only the Nocturne's quick (if impulsive) thinking had saved him from a similar fate. He'd rub that in next time he saw Zexion- except, well, Six was dead. Still, never one to miss an opportunity, Demyx took a moment to imagine himself gloating over a dead Zexion.

Once he finished his imaginary gloating he was back to the problem of what to do next, because really, he'd be the first to admit his plan wasn't too great. The biggest problem was that he wasn't really tagging along with Roxas but a stranger. True Roxas was in there somewhere, but wherever he was he must be buried deep in his Somebody's subconscious; Demyx's efforts back in the underworld had failed to reach Roxas in the slightest. So it wasn't really Roxas Demyx was traveling with, but rather Roxas' somebody, Sora- he had to keep reminding himself that the kid was named Sora. True Roxas was technically a traitor, but Demyx held out hope that Roxas would someday return. On the other hand Sora and his odd companions were sworn enemies of the Organization.

This meant that Demyx was basically depending on the mercy of his enemies. Former enemies, as Demyx also had to keep reminding himself; he was no longer a member of the Organization. The musician was hoping and praying that his new traveling companions would treat him well based solely on the fact they had hearts. But if Demyx had learned one thing doing reconnaissance for the Organization, it was that the presence of a heart did not necessarily make one a good person. So really, this wasn't such a smart plan. Unfortunately, it was his only plan, leaving him no choice but stick with it. After all he was sure Rox-_Sora_ and pals had more mercy than Saix.

Hopefully while watching Sora fight Demyx would be able to find some sort of weakness that he'd be able exploit long enough to actually win a fight. Then he could run triumphantly back to the Organization, and they'd accept him back because he would have proven he was good for something, provided they never found out he spent his down time tagging along after their enemies. Then again, maybe if the Organization, did they'd praise his ingenuity. _Yeah, right!_

He couldn't worry about that now. First he would worry about finding a way to defeat Sora, then he could worry about the rest. For the time being, he'd follow Xigbar's advice and keep his head down. He'd stay out of trouble, play nice, and above all try to refrain from reminding Sora and allies that they were bitter enemies.

Playing nice was easier said than done. For starters they locked him in the storage room. Of course they didn't say "we're going to lock you in the storage room," rather there was some sort of explanation about how there weren't any spare seats in the Gummi's Cockpit. Next thing Demyx, knew they'd shown him to a small storage room and the door closed and then he heard the lock click. At first it was okay. All it really meant was that they didn't trust him and this shouldn't really be a surprise since Sora had told him that to his face flat out. Besides when was the last time a locked door had stopped a Nobody?

Once the Gummi Ship actually started, Demyx had second thoughts about the whole "I don't mind that you locked me in a closet" thing. The ride made him horribly sick to his stomach. In Demyx's defense, he did not normally get airsick (or at least he thought he didn't seeing as how Nobodies capable of portalling need never take Gummi Ships) but there was quite a difference between spending the flight nicely strapped down and spending it without a seatbelt on a ship that was rapidly dodging Heartless ships and their lasers. To make matters worse not only was Demyx not strapped down but nothing in the room was. The room was used for spare weapons and full of shields and staffs. Naturally heaviest staff crashed into his head with starling accuracy.

He briefly saw stars but was jerked back to reality by sliding across the room and hitting the other wall. At last he managed to find a decent place to hold on for dear life. Demyx spent the rest of the flight struggling both to keep himself anchored and keep from losing his lunch. He was grateful for the spare potion Xigbar had given him. Without its extra healing his movements and struggles would have surely opened up his wounds.

The flight seemed to take an eternity to Demyx but at long last the gummy ship landed. It wasn't until he heard the engines turn off that Demyx reluctantly let go and moved out of what had become his safe place. He forced himself to wait patiently for Rox-Sora and pals to come and let him out, rather than merely portaling to outside the locked door and hunting them down. He was determined to show them that he was trustworthy (for the moment at least) and would stay put when they told him to.

It didn't take long before the door was unlocked and slowly swung open revealing three warriors with weapons at the ready on the other side. The sight of armed battle ready foes triggered a reflex; Demyx involuntary yelped and very nearly called his sitar to hand. It was a good thing he managed to remember at the last second that they had a truce, at least for the moment. Instead, seeing that he neither armed nor threatening the others lowered their weapons, the duck doing so last and with the most reluctance. Once more _this is not a good idea _flashed through Demyx's brain but he forced himself to smile as he existed the room. He recognized that this was not the best time to bring up a change in Gummi Ship travel arrangements. "Well, you lead, I'll follow!" he announced instead, cheerfully, and resolved to bring up the other issue before they took off again. Another voyage in that stupid storage room was not a happy thought.

It looked like they had something to say to this. But after a moment's pause all Sora said was "O-kay," and they led him out of the Gummi ship. Once outside Demyx realized he didn't recognize the world they had taken him to. He had never been here before, though he had a feeling that this particular world had come up before in the Organization's reports. They were made their way onto a bridge with a huge castle looming straight ahead. Sora and allies must have been to this world before, though, for they headed confidently through a small courtyard and to the front door. Demyx followed a step or two behind taking in the sights and racking his brain for what world this might be.

Without bothering to knock, Sora opened the door and let them into the main hall. Demyx's attention was immediately drawn to the large monster in fancy clothes that paced just before the stairs. There was something familiar about this; Demyx was quite sure now he'd heard of this world. If only he'd paid more attention at meetings.

The monster didn't look particularly pleased at their entrance but the moment he looked up and noticed the Nobody, the displeased look morphed into a full snarl. "You!" he hissed, stalking over.

Demyx found himself having a quick mental argument. The sensible part of his brain wanted to go hide behind Roxas, while another part argued he had to learn to get by on his own now that he didn't even have the Organization's backing. He took too long deciding, and the next thing he knew, the beast was right in front of him. Afraid that running away would only result in being chased, Demyx put on his most innocent smile. "Uh, hi, I'm Demyx. I don't think we've met."

"You work for them," the creature snarled back.

"The Organization?" Demyx guessed. "Well, I do er, I did, I kinda don't at the moment..."

His babbling was interrupted by the monster slowly growling, "You Are Not Welcome Here," ending with loud roar, "Get Out!"

Demyx found himself jumping backward at the monster's roar. "I would really but I sorta promised Roxas I'd stay where he can keep an eye on me." _And keep me alive,_ he silently added.

Finally, Roxas, who must have been friends with the monster, spoke up, "He means me, I think, and yeah, we have this sort of truce right now. It's complicated, but I'm afraid you'll have put up with him while I'm here," he told his ally. " And the name is _Sora_," he added for Demyx's benefit.

It didn't look to the Nobody like Rox- er, Sora was all that welcome either, but the beast just sighed. "Fine, just keep him out of trouble."

"Having any problems with Heartless or Nobodies?" Sora asked.

"No," the creature replied, his answer coming out in a snarl. Another person entered the hall at the top of the left stairs and his attention was drawn to her. She was absolutely beautiful. She had the sort of beauty that would shine through even a simple country dress, but dressed as she was now, in a fine golden gown with her hair all done up, she looked stunning. Demyx scarcely noticed her beauty, though; his attention was on her for a different reason- her heart. It radiated more brightly than any he'd ever encountered before. The moment she'd entered the room his own hollow chest ached. He found himself drawn to her, he wanted to get closer and feel the light of her heart up close even though he felt that the closer he got the worse his absent heart would ache. That much goodness and power of heart could only belong to a Princess of Heart.

Demyx racked him brain trying to remember all of the Princesses of Heart and which worlds they came from. He never managed to pay much attention at meetings but wait, he had written them on note cards. Unnoticed by the others he pulled his notes out. Let's see there was Jasmine- but no, this couldn't be her, she came from a desert world. Aurora, maybe…

While Demyx went through his cards he tried to keep an eye on the others just in case. The lady made her way down the stairs. When she noticed the four visitors she frowned for a moment, but then gave Sora a welcoming smile. Sora put his hands behind his head in sheepishly as if just realizing that they might have been interrupting something. The creature bowed and the woman curtsied. Then he delicately took her arm in his and together they went into the ballroom, shutting the doors behind them.

"You think we came at a bad time?" Sora asked.

Before anyone could respond, the pieces finally clicked in the Nocturne's head and he exclaimed, "Belle! This place is Beast's Castle!"

"Yup," The tall guy (Goofy, was it?) confirmed.

At last Demyx had figured out where they had taken him. This made him feel more in control and slightly better about his situation. At least until he realized that the Organization member he was mostly likely to run into was Xaldin. The Whirlwind Lancer had been assigned a long term mission in Beast's Castle and the Beast had called Demyx one of "them" meaning he had encountered an Organization member before. This wasn't good: Saix might be the former coworker he least wanted to encounter but Xaldin took second easily. That guy was scary and wouldn't hesitate to take him out. "Xaldin!" Demyx squeaked out loud as all this occurred to him. The trio turned to him, giving him odd looks but Demyx was too busy being distraught to notice. His self preservation instinct was kicking in again. He turned to his captors/protectors. "This was a nice visit and all but nothing is going on here and they clearly have some sort of date thing going on so I think we should be leaving now, don't you?" he babbled.

Demyx started walking toward the exit. He forced himself to turn around when he realized they weren't following. As much as he wanted to flee back to the ship, Xaldin could be waiting to ambush him outside. The keybearer and his companions had stayed rooted in their spots and were now shooting him hostile looks. Unsure how to get them to move Demyx tried, "Um, you're not coming, why not?"

"Because _you_ want us to," the Duck snarled back. Jeez, was that guy ever going to give him a break?

"Why do you want us to leave so badly? Does the Organization have something planned?" Sora accused.

Panicked, Demyx forgot about not betraying the Organization by giving away secrets and blurted out, "Because Xaldin has got a mission here and if he finds out I'm disgraced he won't hesitate to take me out. He's really strong and tough and scary."

This did not have the intended effect. Rather than agreeing with him that Xaldin was the sort of Nobody they didn't want to face and leaving the castle, Sora exclaimed, "If Xaldin's really tough then Beast is going to need our help." And without further ado the three heroes opened the doors to the ballroom and ran in leaving poor Demyx no choice but to follow. Traveling with people who had hearts was going to take some getting used to.


	4. Chapter 4

I survived the semester! I just got my grades back and now I can officially say I passed. I should have more time to write this summer. Hopefully this means I can update a little more frequently. I recently got this chapter back from my beta and so I can mark this occasion with an update.

**Chapter 4**

By the time Sora, Donald and Goofy reached the ballroom Xaldin had already made his move. He was standing on the upper level of the balcony. Sora had no idea what he had been saying for it was drowned out by Beast's roars, but whatever it was, it couldn't have been good. "Beast!" Sora called running up to his furious ally.

"What's this?" Xaldin asked in a smooth calm voice. "More guests and _Demyx_! What are you doing here?" Sora didn't know if surprise was an emotion or not, but to his untrained ears the shock in Xaldin's voice sounded genuine. Sora looked back over his shoulder and found that their tag-along Nobody had entered the ballroom shortly after them. He hung back by the door, looking nervously at the various warriors. "What are you doing here?" Xaldin repeated. There was an undertone now in his calm voice. Sora watched Demyx curious to see how the Nobody would respond. This could be a great opportunity to learn was Demyx was really up to, though realistically Sora was aware that any explanation that came out of the younger Nobody could be a lie to appease his elder. Demyx's eyes darted over the two factions in the ballroom before he seemed to make a decision.

"I'm here to fight Roxas," he announced, false confidence making his voice bold. He disappeared into the darkness only to reappear a moment later standing on the balcony next to Xaldin.

Xaldin snapped his fingers and a new kind of nobody that Sora had yet to fight appeared on the ballroom floor. Demyx followed a moment, later summoning a few dancer nobodies to join the battle. Sora found himself forced to ignore the Nobodies standing on the upper level and focus instead on fighting the lesser ones now surrounding him. That battle took awhile. Fighting dancers was a pain. Their swift movements made them able to turn the tables on Sora quickly. One moment he'd be close to landing a finishing blow, but next thing he knew the dancer would have reached out and grabbed him and hurled him across the room. The new type of nobodies provided a challenge also. Sora nearly got skewered by their spears a couple of times before he learned enough of their fighting style to understand how to counter them. Out of the corner of his eye he caught sight of Beast's claws ripping apart some nobodies. His other allies helped too, Donald with magic and Goofy with his shield. At last the final lance wielding nobody was destroyed by Beast and the fighters could survey the damage. Luckily Belle and the castle's servants were perfectly safe having escaped out the balcony doors just as the fighting began. The upper level was empty- in the confusion both Xaldin and Demyx had gotten away.

"Thank Goodness you're safe!" Belle exclaimed making her way over to Beast.

He gave a roar in response causing, Belle to back away. "I want those Nobodies out of my castle!"

"I knew we couldn't trust him." Donald mumbled.

Sora shrugged. They had never really trusted Demyx to begin with. And to be fair to him he hadn't betrayed them per se. Demyx had stated from the beginning his intention was to fight Sora as soon as he was able to, they just didn't expect it to be so soon. Besides Demyx wasn't their main problem. "It's the other guy we have to worry about," he pointed out.

"I wonder what Xaldin is after?" Goofy mused.

"If I tell you," said a familiar voice, "will you forgive me for sending my dancers after you?" Another dark portal opened up on the ballroom floor and out stepped Demyx. It was a mistake on the Nobody's part to appear so close to a furious Beast. The castle's Master let out a roar worthy of his form and lunged at Demyx. Sora tried to yell at Beast to stop but he couldn't even hear himself over the roar.

With a slight "Eep," Demyx managed to avoid the swipe, but barely. The quick movement cost him. He hunched over with a grimace across his face, moaning softly and clutching his still injured stomach. He failed to dodge the next blow. Beast's claws connected with the Nobody's shoulder. Thought the leather coat provided some protection, Beast's claws were able to penetrate at least deep enough to draw blood.

Beast had paid no heed to the others' yells, so Sora was forced to resort to physically stopping him. It was only after Beast had landed the hit was Sora finally able to grab his large ally. He tried to pull him away from Demyx. Although Sora was far too weak to accomplish such a feat, the contact of Sora's hands on the Beast was enough to break him out of rage and back to his senses. "STOP!" Sora yelled.

"Why?" Beast demanded. "He's in league with Xaldin."

Why was a very good question. Why was Sora trying to spare Demyx's life? Did Nobodies even have lives? Spare his existence then? Whatever it was, why was Sora trying to save him? Demyx was a bad guy, part of the evil Organization. Hadn't he just shown where his true motives lay? Sora might have felt it wouldn't sit right on his conscience to kill a badly injured Nobody in a highly unfair fight but clearly Beast didn't share his qualms. So why couldn't he just sit back and watch Beast end whatever sort of quasi-existence Demyx currently had? Sora found he couldn't come up with an answer.

Sora was saved from having to explain or even understand his motives by Goofy who spoke up, "We should at least hear him out."

Demyx shot the knight a look which would have been grateful, were he capable of the feeling and started to explain, "I didn't want to attack like that, cause I'm not ready to fight you yet." For added emphasis he gently placed hand on his injured ribs and winced at the contact. "Nowhere near ready, but I realized Xaldin has been here awhile and he doesn't know I'm in trouble yet. I didn't want to give him reason to think I was cause he's really scary, but I don't really want to fight you yet so I hope you're not mad about the summoning dancers- I didn't want to make Xaldin suspicious so I had to. " The more he spoke the faster he got until his words were coming out in tumble with barely a breath between them. Sora was beginning to notice Demyx babbled when he was nervous. Well, not nervous since Nobodies couldn't be, but when he was in a situation where he might become endangered, or in other words, when a normal person would be nervous.

"So why are you back here, shouldn't you stick with Xaldin?" Sora asked still trying to figure out if Demyx had some kind of plan up his sleeve.

Demyx frowned. "I was going to help him but he was all _Nine you 're a screw-up. Can't you find and fight the keyblade wielder without messing up someone else's mission?_ Which is mean but whatever I'm used to it. He never really liked me anyways. But then he's all _I don't need your help_ and _you'll just mess up my mission,_ which is like just plain rude, so I left. " He shrugged. He smiled at Sora, "Besides I think you're going to beat Mister Overconfident so I'll try my luck sticking with you. " He hobbled toward Sora and raised his arm. Figuring out what was coming Sora ducked out of the way before Demyx could lay another unwelcome arm around his shoulders. He was going to have to establish a no touching policy with the Nobody.

"What is Xaldin up to?" Donald demanded.

"That's right! I promised to tell. You guys know he's trying to turn Beast into a Nobody, cause really he'd make a great Nobody and with all that rage extracting the heart should be-" It was at this point that Beast's growl, which had started near the beginning of Demyx 's explanation grew loud enough that the strange Nobody realized what his words were doing to Beast and that angering Beast further wasn't a good idea. He cleared his throat and changed topics slightly. "Um, so to get the Nobody he figures he needs the rose-" At this point Beast once more cut Demyx off. This time it was with a mighty roar and as he charged out of the ballroom. Demyx blinked, "Was it something I said?"

Ignoring Demyx's inane question, Sora turned to the others "Let's go." They made their way out of the ballroom and toward Beast's room in the west wing all the while fighting the heartless. Demyx followed much like he had during the trek down the mountain, ignoring the heartless and neither helping nor hindering their fight. Belle and the castle servants also followed at a safe distance. As they neared the door they could hear Beast growling inside.

Sora was about to open the door when Goofy cleared his throat. "Maybe Demyx should wait outside," he suggested.

Sora considered this. They were supposed to be keeping an eye on the Nobody but calming Beast down was going to be hard enough without Demyx unintentionally (or perhaps he was doing it on purpose?) making things worse.

Given that his last in encounter with Beast had left him the worse for the wear it was no surprise Demyx was all too willing to go along with this suggestion. "That sounds like a good idea to me. You guys go and deal with that beast guy, I'll just wait out here," he volunteered. He sat cross-legged on the carpet leaning against a wall. "Me and the talking teacup can keep each other company," he added with a wide smile.

Chip, the talking teacup , gave the Nobody a funny look before turning toward the tea kettle. "Mom?" he asked.

"Stay with me, Chip. You can't trust Nobodies." Mrs. Potts glared at Demyx.

Demyx held up his hands in a gesture of surrender. "Okay, I'm the evil Nobody and you don't like me, I get it." The cheerful voice with which he said this contrasted with his words. Perfectly relaxed, despite being in the presence of sort-of enemies he put his hands behind his head and stretched out his legs in front of him.

Before they could further address the issue of leaving Demyx unsupervised in the hallway, Belle rushed forward and ran into the room. Afraid for her safety if Xaldin was again manipulating Beast, Sora rushed in after her. Donald, Goofy and the castle's servants followed suit leaving Demyx alone in the hall.

Regardless of if it was a good idea to leave the former member of the Organization unsupervised, not bringing him to meet Beast was pure genius. Even without the presence of an enemy the encounter did not go well. Xaldin had taken the rose that normally stood on the table in Beast's room. Sora didn't understand what was so special about the flower, but losing it set Beast off. Without Demyx present as a convenient scapegoat Beast turned on Belle blaming her for "having to have a party." Sora immediately stuck up for Belle. Beast's anger disappeared but it was replaced with depression. Beast told Belle and Sora to leave the castle, telling Belle that he'd thought she could change him but all he was a Beast and he deserved to be alone. Frowning Belle opened her mouth to say something then thought better of it. Sadly they left Beast alone his room.

"There's got to be something I can do," Belle said once they were back in the hall. "I just can't let him give up like that."

"We'll trying talking to him again," Sora volunteered.

"Thanks, Sora," Belle told him. "I'm going back to my room to think. I have to make him see..." Belle made her way back down the hallway working on the problem quietly with herself. " There must something I can do..."

Donald's voice cut in, momentarily distracting them from the problem of Beast. "Hey, waterboy left again!" Sure enough the hallway was empty of Nobodies. Sora groaned. He briefly entertained the notion of getting a leash for Demyx if the Nobody planned to continue following them.

"Uh, guys," Goofy pointed to one the suits of armor that decorated the halls. Halfway hidden behind it stood Demyx.

Realizing that everyone in the hall was staring at him, Demyx gave a sheepish smile and emerged from behind the armor. "I didn't want the first thing that Beast guy saw to be me," he admitted. That actually made more sense than anything Sora had expected from the odd Nobody and he found himself nodding along with the guy's reasoning.

Their Nobody tag-along accounted for, the rest turned to their attention to the problems at hand. "What's so special about that rose?" Sora asked the castle's servants.

"We told you about the curse. It has a time frame. Beast must learn to love another and earn their love in return before the last petal falls or he will remain a Beast forever," Lumiere explained.

"All beast's hopes are tied up in that single flower," Mrs. Potts added.

"And that flower was the first living thing the Beast learned to take care of." Cogsworth put in.

"There aren't many petals left, are there?" Goofy asked.

"No," Mrs. Potts agreed sadly. "He's almost out of time."

"But, Belle!" Lumiere cut in. "Surely he must care for her."

"That's right" said Sora remembering when he first met Beast. "That's it! I think I know what to say to Beast now. Ready guys?" he asked Donald and Goofy. They nodded.

"If you're going back in there, I'll be just be going back here now." Demyx moved back behind the armor. Now that Sora knew where the Nobody was it easy to spot him, but if Beast wasn't paying attention or looking for people hiding there was a good chance he'd miss Demyx. All things considered, it was a good thing for all involved, since it would save Demyx from getting even more injured, Beast from getting worked up again and Sora from having to explain or try to understand why he was helping Demyx.

"We'll keep an eye on him. No Nobody will be messing with this castle," Cogsworth announced conveniently ignoring the fact Xaldin was still on the loose.

With Demyx back under surveillance and a good idea of what to say to Beast a confident Sora, Donald and Goofy entered Beast's room.


	5. Chapter 5

So much for updating more frequently this summer! Summer class and working some overtime caused some of the delay. Plus I used to be able to write small amounts during my lunch break at work, but they got rid of the computer I used. I was able to get a fair bit written earlier in the summer, but there is quite a delay between when a chapter gets written, and when the process of revision is done and the chapter is ready to be posted. This means I do have a little backlog written for when school starts again in the fall. So while updates will probably continue to be somewhat infrequent, at least they can continue.

**Chapter 5**

In the short hour since Sora had landed in Beast's castle things had quickly gone from bad to worse. The Oraganization was causing trouble, specifically Xaldin's theft of one very important magic rose. Beast and Belle's perfect evening had been ruined resulting in Beast rejecting her and becoming depressed. And, though not a major problem, it was certainly annoying that the heatless and some lesser nobodies kept popping up around every corner. To think, all Sora had planned on was a quick peek inside to make sure that Xaldin wasn't messing with Beast again and heartless were under control. Sometimes it seemed like the problems Sora encountered as he traveled the various worlds seemed endless. But whether it was a heartless invasion or the convoluted justice system of Wonderland, Sora had learned to take things one problem at a time. Things were so much easier that way. So first thing was to get Beast to snap out it once and for all.

With a few choice words Sora was finally successful in pulling Beast out of his funk. Beast might not have completely recovered but at least he was determined to do something- in this case get rid of Xaldin. Hopefully once they got the rose back things would go back to normal. They didn't know where Xaldin had gotten to, but if he was still planning on manipulating Beast then he was likely still hanging around somewhere. With that in the mind the four combed the castle, starting with Beast's room in the west wing, for the thieving Nobody. Sora had caught a glimpse of Demyx still in his hiding place as they were leaving Beast's room. The brunette noticed the kooky Nobody unobtrusively following them from as much distance as possible.

Finding Xaldin didn't prove a difficult task because Xaldin wanted to be found. He was waiting for them, standing on a raised ledge in the main entryway and holding the rose in one hand. "Ah, Beast," he greeted them, "I was wondering if you'd given up."

Beast's response was predictable. "GET OUT!"

"What are you up to?" Sora cut in, eager to distract Xaldin and possibly get some answers in the process before the Nobody could get under Beast's fur again.

"Kingdom Hearts," Xaldin replied with reverence in his voice. He removed his hood and for the first time Sora was able to see the other man's face. "Once we obtain Kingdom heart's we will truly exist and so," he continued looking at Beast, "we need your heartless and your Nobody." Lesser nobodies suddenly appeared around them in the hall. This time there were only dragoons and dusks. Demyx, wherever he was had not pretended (or was he not faking?) to switch sides again. Dusks were only hard if you got overwhelmed or distracted. Sora had figured Xaldin's special nobodies, which Jiminy told him were called dragoons, had a specific fighting pattern and were easy to counter if you kept that in mind. The battle went relatively smoothly. When it was over Xaldin appeared to manipulate wind and set himself down away from them by the door and where he could easily slip outside.

Sora and his allies followed a moment later. Xaldin wasn't present in the courtyard. Sora was looking around for the Nobody when he heard Belle cry "Look! It's the rose," and turned to see her standing on the her balcony triumphantly holding the rose. Unfortunately in had been a trap. Xalding suddenly appeared behind her, grabbing the woman still holding the rose. Using his wind powers he carried his body over the gate to a bridge that stood in front of the castle. Beast muscled open the garden gate and the four heroes headed onto the bridge where Xaldin stood ready to confront them. In one hand he held the Rose in the other he kept a firm grip on Belle.

"You! Get out of my castle now!" Beast once more ordered.

"With pleasure" Xaldin responded in a falsely pleasant voice, "but I'd rather travel light, which shall I leave behind?" To the surprise of everyone on the bridge it was Belle who made the next move. She suddenly elbowed the tall Nobody hard in the chest. While he was reeling from the blow she grabbed the rose from him and retreated down the bridge putting Beast, Sora, Donald and Goofy between her and Xaldin.

Goofy moved back to protect Belle while, Sora, Beast and Donald charged. It was finally time to fight Xaldin and not just his minions. Demyx was the only member of Organization XIII Sora had fought so far and he had to admit after fighting the musician he'd badly underestimated the strength of their members. It was nearly a fatal mistake. Xaldin was a master fighter, he seamlessly wove his element in with his fighting style. His weapons were also much more formidable; six lances were far more deadly than an instrument. Worse still he combined offense and defense flawlessly. The winds swirling around his body made him a hard target to reach and hit, but when Sora tried to retreat suddenly the lances would strike out and nearly skewer him, even from halfway down the bridge.

It turned out to be one of those battles that later, when he looked back on it, Sora was never sure quite how he'd managed to win. It helped that he had two allies fighting with him. One on one he could never have taken Xaldin down, but fighting three on one he somehow managed it. At last, with Xaldin pinned by Beast's claws, Sora managed to inflict a fatal blow. The lance wielding Nobody managed to fly away one last time but he was too injured to get far. His lances faded away. Xaldin let out a mighty cry and then he too faded. Darkness flew off his body and evaporated until there was nothing left.

Sora couldn't help but stare for a moment at the spot where Xaldin had been standing. There really was nothing left. Much like the lesser nobodies they commanded, the Organization members didn't even leave bodies behind when they died. Turning back around, Sora caught sight of Demyx standing near the gate to the courtyard. The musician looked pale and had the same blank look on his face he'd had when Sora first spared his existence.

"You did it," Goofy cheered distracting Sora from the Nobodies.

"Yeah," Sora acknowledged tiredly, it had not been an easy battle and he wanted nothing more than to collapse into an exhausted heap.

With Xaldin gone for good, Sora his allies and the castle's servants watched as Beast and Belle make up and Beast invite Belle to stay. Beast even took it a step further making it clear he cared more for Belle than for the rose. They started dancing together in the courtyard, resuming the evening they had originally been planning before Xaldin interrupted them. Sora remembered how the castle's servants had told him that Beast had to learn to love another and be loved in return in order to break his curse. Watching Beast and Belle dance together Sora couldn't help but think they were well on their way.

With the meddling Organization member gone for good it was time for Sora, Donald and Goofy to take their leave. Sora said his goodbyes to the inhabitants of the world. After giving Sora a sincere goodbye and heartfelt thanks, Beast growled out "Take _him_ with you." Apparently Beast hadn't forgotten that Demyx was still hanging around somewhere.

"Will do," Sora promised. That shouldn't be hard, he knew Demyx at least had enough sense not to want to hang around in the castle where Beast would likely attack him on sight. Their tag-along was waiting for them on the bridge standing about where Xaldin had died. The same blank expression from earlier was back on his face. He didn't speak or acknowledge them as they passed him. Sora looked back to find Demyx following a few steps behind them still walking with a limp. Demyx's silence lasted until they led him to the same storage room they'd put him in last time.

"No." At first Demyx's voice came out empty sounding but as he continued his fake emotion filled it once more, "No way am I spending another flight locked in that stupid room. Do you know how many of those weapons hit me last time? Too many! And I got thrown into the wall the second we started up. I demand a seat belt!" The last part came out particularly childish sounding and adding to the image he crossed his arms and pouted.

Sora looked at his companions unsure what to do now. Locking Demyx in the room last time had been a last minute inspiration on their part. He had to admit he hadn't considered how uncomfortable it might be the for the Nobody. Were there even seats in that room? Fortunately their ship had a small passenger's room with a few extra seats. Sora volunteered to stay there and keep an eye on Demyx while Donald took over piloting. There were a few things Sora wanted to ask Demyx and it seemed as good a time as any.

Seated across from Sora the Nobody kept his head down and played with his hands in an almost depressed way .Although Sora barely knew Demyx, he had a feeling that the quiet subdued way the other man was acting was somewhat out of character. In his previous two encounters Demyx had acted cheerful, upbeat and even talkative exchanging pleasantries with his foes. Granted Nobodies were supposed to be incapable of emotions, but if Demyx chose to act this way with enemies then he probably acted like that most of the time. Sora couldn't help but wonder if Demyx was in shock over Xaldin's death and if so, why? Was it because he actually cared for the other man, or was it because the death had reminded him of his own mortality? Once the ship started Sora tried to break the ice with, "Are you alright?"

Demyx looked up startled. He ignored that the question was stupid to begin with, he couldn't be bothered by anything if he didn't have emotions, and instead responded, "Yeah, I guess. I just can't believe Xaldin's gone like that. One minute he's berating me for messing up and then pow one hit from you and he's gone. Another proof red, just like that." He frowned, "It's not that I like-...I mean liked the guy but still, it's weird."

"I guess," said Sora. He tried not dwell on it on the rare occasions he did end up killing non-heartless foes. Yen Sid had said not to be fooled by the Nobodies, they didn't truly exist to begin with, but it was hard to deny that there was someone there he was talking to right now. Speaking of which, there was something he wanted to ask Demyx. "What was that thing you said about a proof being red? And before you mentioned something about proof telling the Organization you're still alive. What proof?"

"That?" Demyx thought for a moment then shrugged, "I guess it's no big secret so I can tell you. There is this room in the castle called 'the proof of existence" and in it there is a place set up for each of us. I don't really know how it came to be but it's kind of like our graveyard. The places used to glow blue but we found out when Vexen died that when you die, they turn red. So after we're gone I guess it's the only proof we even existed to begin with. We fade when we die. We don't even leave bodies." Demyx closed his eyes and shuddered at this perhaps remembering Xaldin's fading.

That was kind of morbid. Sora also shuddered wondering how many of those stones he would personally be responsible for changing. Jiminy had said that there were thirteen member of Orginization XIII. Sora had met about half of them. Demyx had just mentioned that someone named Vexen had once been a member but been killed. How many were left? "So," he asked casually, "How many are red now?" Surely it wouldn't be a betrayal on Demyx's part to tell him about the members that were already dead.

To Sora's delight not only did Demyx answer his question, he counted the members off on his fingers listing each one, " Vexen, Lexaeus, Zexion...Marluxia, Larxene, oh and now Xaldin- six, unless Saix has caught up with Axel in which case it's probably more like seven or even eight cause at least one them won't be walking away from that battle."

Six out of thirteen gone. Simple math revealed that there were seven left. Sora counted off the members he knew on his fingers. There was Xemnas the leader, plus Saix the man with the cross scar, Axel whose current loyalties Sora couldn't be sure off, Demyx who, if nothing else, Sora knew he could beat, and man with the eye patch from the land of dragons. That was five. Two members were still unaccounted for. "So who's left?" Sora asked trying to sound like he was just idly curious and not gathering information on his foes.

Demyx saw through his attempt. He wagged his finger at Sora. "That's a secret," he said playfully. "I told you I won't betray the Organization," he added in a more serious voice crossing his arms stubbornly.

Sora decided to drop the subject. If he really wanted to he was fairly sure one way or another he could get the answers out of the Nobody. But he didn't want to go that far yet. There was a lot he could probably learn from the former Organization member but if Demyx wasn't willing give the information, Sora didn't feel could hurt the guy for it. Nobody or not after having spent a few hours with Demyx Sora couldn't deny the guy was alive: he had some sort of existence and was capable of feeling pain. Sora felt he couldn't in good conscience torture someone, even a Nobody. It just wasn't a line he was willing to cross. Maybe if he waited Demyx's loyalties would shift. He didn't understand how Demyx could be so loyal to an Organization that didn't care for him.

A few random musical notes invaded his head and pulled Sora out of his thoughts. Looking up he was surprised to find Demyx had summoned his weapon. For a moment Sora wondered what exactly Demyx was planning then belatedly he remembered that Demyx's weapon was also a musical instrument. The Nobody was currently tuning it.

Once he finished tuning Demyx started playing a slow sad song. Sora kept his guard up but no attacks came. No water was summoned, it was only the music that hung in the air. Across from Sora, Demyx sat playing with his eyes half closed in concentration. Sora tried to enjoy the music but he found himself wishing the Nobody would play something happier, the song was making him homesick. Demyx finished playing after a little while but the melancholy atmosphere lingered. Sora made no more attempts at conversation and neither did Demyx. Their silence lasted until the ship landed.

* * *

Writing these few chapters required me playing through the second visit to Beast's Castle and having to beat Xaldin again. I just had to give the guy his due, and make some mention of just how hard he is to beat. I can't do it without King Mickey saving me 2-3 times. I can't find a good strategy for hitting him without getting myself hurt in the process. My beta commented that she found Demyx harder! Demyx and Xaldin were the only foes that actually killed me the first time I played the game. Though Demyx didn't kill me so much as I would get an instant game over for failing to defeat his forms in time. Thanks especially to his 10 forms in 10 seconds, Demyx is pretty challenging, but the game itself treats him like he's a joke. It's pretty important to the plot that he isn't seen as much of a fighter, so in this story Sora thinks Demyx isn't too hard to beat.

Thanks to **Sora Tayuya** for your wonderful reviews. You're right Demyx won't be able to stay neutral forever. He is going to have to pick a side eventually. Right now he wants to stay as loyal to the Organization as he can, even though he's been all but kicked out. However, not everyone on the side of light is going to be tolerant of that stance.


	6. Chapter 6

Without the ability to write during my breaks at work, I have a feeling that my progress on this story might grind to a halt during this semester. This chapter is longer than usual which will hopefully make up for some of the delay.

**Chapter 6**

It was just one of those days. In the old days, back before everything started falling apart, one of those days would be a day when Demyx royally screwed up his mission. He would get yelled at by Saix and, if he was particularly unlucky, lectured by Xemnas. Then, his streak of bad lack would continue so that whoever was cooking that night would burn their food, and to top it off Axel would play some sort of prank on him. But today Demyx had been nearly been killed by Sora and forced to beg for his life, had made a deal with enemies which might get him labeled traitor if he ever managed to make it back to the Organization, proceeded to get attacked by the Beast, and finally watched Xaldin fade to death right in front of him. Nope, this was probably the most terrible day he'd had since he'd become a Nobody. And worst of all, it wasn't even over yet.

Xaldin's death had been more of a shock then Demyx wanted to admit. After he'd gotten over his initial panic at discovering he was in Beast's Castle, Demyx had figured out how to trick Xaldin. He hadn't been lying when he told Sora that Xaldin hadn't wanted to work with him, he had just neglected to mention that in the end he got the lance wielder to agree. Somehow Demyx had figured out how to play both sides. He had convinced Xaldin that he'd pretend to accidentally let Beast know Xaldin was after the rose (after all Xaldin wanted Beast to know he took it- angering Beast was the whole point) while at the same time he used that information as a bribe to convince Sora to sort of trust him again. No matter which side came out on top he'd win. He hadn't ruined his chances of traveling with Sora so he was safe if the keyblade wielder won. And if Xaldin won he'd head back to the Organization talking up as much as he could the role he'd played and claiming it should count as beating Sora. It admittedly was a stretch, but it's not like he could actually beat Roxas' other on his own.

Demyx had watched the fight from the shadows since he had no intention of actually joining in the battle. Secretly he'd been rooting for Xaldin, since the elder Nobody's victory would allow him to come crawling back to the Organization. But, to Demyx's dismay, Sora had won, and not only that, he'd killed Xaldin. The Whirlwind Lancer was one of the tougher Nobodies and now he was gone, with nothing left to show of his existence but a red stone. Demyx had never seen a greater Nobody fade before and it was not something he ever wanted to see again. Certainly he didn't want to witness his own fading. At least Demyx still had Sora's protection, but now he'd gotten a reminder what the innocent looking kid was capable of. Somehow Demyx would have to keep Sora from killing him while at the same time not betraying the Organization. It almost had him rethinking his conclusion that Sora was more merciful than Saix.

The only good thing that had come out of Beast's Castle was this should help him tell Sora apart from Roxas. Because Roxas wouldn't have just killed Xaldin, right? Well, Roxas would certainly have fought Xaldin if he wanted to stop the elder Nobody, but Demyx was pretty sure Roxas would never have gone as far as to kill the other Nobody. In truth, the Melodious Nocturne had never been anywhere near as close to the thirteenth member as Axel had, but he always thought that he and Roxas had gotten along well. He'd liked their youngest member and he liked to think that at the very least Roxas didn't dislike him. Demyx had done a little pretending earlier in the day that it was Roxas he was traveling with, but no more. Sora clearly wasn't the same as their former member and thinking so might prove to be a fatal mistake.

Back to the present where he was traveling on Sora's ship to some unknown but probably hostile world. After all, Sora's allies were the Organization's enemies. Any place Sora was welcome, Demyx wouldn't be. Demyx had known the entire flight that whichever world they were heading toward would be bad for him, but even still he was shocked when he discovered which world it was: Hollow Bastion. He doubted that Sora could have picked a worse place. In addition to almost dying there yesterday, Demyx had done recon there a few times. He'd learned one important piece of information: the members of the Restoration Committee were not the kind of people he wanted to mess with. He would much prefer to stay as far away from them as possible.

As he followed Sora through the streets, staying right on the keyblade wielder's heels, Demyx noticed the looks he was receiving. It seemed the Restoration Committee had warned all of the citizens about the Organization. As they passed the city's market Demyx considered that maybe it was time to get new clothes. He'd been lucky that Xaldin hadn't heard of his change in status but he doubted that would last much longer. Surely by tomorrow, word would have spread throughout the castle that he was blacklisted. As long as he was officially not a member anymore he might as well wear something other than clothes that marked him as the enemy.

"Sora! Hey!" cried a female voice. A petite black haired girl holding a spiked weapon vaulted over a trash can and ran to meet them. Demyx recognized her from his recon. She was a member of the Restoration Committee, Yuffie. Her face had lit up at the sight of Sora, Donald and Goofy but when she saw Demyx she frowned. She poked Sora in the shoulder and whispered something in his ear.

"I know," Sora replied. "It's complicated. This is Demyx. Demyx, Yuffie." He introduced the two like there was nothing weird about having an Organization member following him.

"Hi." Demyx waved figuring she probably wouldn't want to shake his hand. "Uh, nice to meet you," he lied.

"I'm the great ninja Yuffie!" she announced to pointing to her chest proudly. "So don't try anything Organization Boy- I'm watching you." It wasn't exactly what Demyx was expecting to hear, but it could have been a lot worse. He shrugged and gave what he hoped was charming smile.

Yuffie ignored him and turned back to Sora, Donald and Goofy. "You guys planning to stay the night?"

"Yup," Goofy confirmed.

"We found another page," Donald proclaimed.

"I'll visit Pooh in the morning and see if it helps," Sora added.

Demyx didn't have the slightest idea what they were talking about but Yuffie understood. "Great," she said, "good luck."

Demyx let out a gulp as he recognized the building they were heading toward, the headquarters of the Restoration Committee. He really should have seen it coming, but he couldn't do anything about it now. There was no way he was going to leave Sora's side while on such a hostile world, not for a second. He'd just have to hope Sora would keep the Restoration Committee from killing him. Visibly shaking, Demyx followed the keyblade wielder into the house.

Directly across from the front door a man sat behind an impressive looking computer setup with his back to them. When he heard the door slam he turned around. "Hey kid, y-the Organization!" he abruptly cut off his greeting when he noticed Demyx. He hit a button on the computer and stood. He grabbed out a dangerous looking spear that had been propped up nearby. "What are you doing here?" he demanded, leveling his weapon at Demyx.

Now that he was facing forward, Demyx recognized the man as Cid, another member of the Restoration Committee. The Nocturne fought his instinct to step away from the weapon and instead moved forward so he was a step closer to Sora. "I'm following Sora," he explained. "And I'm kinda not in the Organization anymore."

"You quit? Why'd you quit?" Yuffie asked, sounding genuinely curious. She idly spun her weapon in her fingers.

Demyx frowned. He didn't like to think about it. "They gave a me a mission I had to do or I'd get kicked out and I couldn't do it."

Yuffie snorted, "You expect us to believe your nonexistent heart suddenly grew a conscience?"

"No, I tried, really I did, twice even, but I couldn't pull it off."

"So what was this all important mission?" Cid asked.

Demyx didn't really want to say, but Sora was there and he knew the truth so if the Nobody lied Sora would probably call him on it. "Defeat the keyblade wielder," Demyx admitted quietly. Cid let out a breath and Yuffie abruptly caught her weapon mid-spin. "I think they wanted me to prove my worth, but I couldn't do it- I don't have any," he finished glumly.

"Humph, that was a good story. Now what are you really up to?" Cid punctuated his demand by stabbing forward with his weapon. Even though there were still a few feet and Sora between the spear and himself, Demyx danced backward, further away from the pointed weapon. Unfortunately, this took him closer to the door which opened a second later and in strode none other than the leader of the Restoration Committee.

"You," Leon growled out, reminding Demyx of Beast. Quick as a flash the gunblade was off the tall brunet's back and swinging in a downward arc toward the Nobody.

It met with a blue sitar that was hastily summoned to block the blow. Demyx grunted under the strain. He did not need this today, not when he was already so beat up. "Hey man, what gives?" he demanded.

Leon opened his mouth to respond, but he was cut off by a new figure materializing in the room in a poof of blue smoke. "For the hundredth time, no fighting in my house," the old man robed in blue scolded.

"_You, outside now_," Leon demanded his stormy grey eyes trying to bore a hole into Demyx.

Hiding behind Sora wasn't an option since on the small brunet's other side Cid's spear was still leveled at him. Instead Demyx retreated across the strange house for the far corner roughly diagonal from the door. His stomach wounds were starting to ache horribly but he fought to keep the pain from showing on his face. Holding his sitar was becoming harder so he was forced to dismiss it. "No." Demyx couldn't stop himself from sticking out his tongue announcing, "You can't fight me if I stay inside." He crossed his arms.

Perhaps that wasn't the smartest of things to say. Leon looked like he might be willing to risk Merlin's wrath. The swordsman stalked across the room. He reached for his gunbalde. "Leon! Don't make me turn you into a cat." Merlin threatened.

"Fine," Leon muttered quietly and grabbed the Nobody roughly by the arm.

"Hey, no fair!" Demyx complained as he was dragged toward the door. "Let me go! Sora, stop him!"

"Sora?" The shock froze Leon in place. "Why would you ask Sora for help? Just what are you doing here?"

"Well, if you megave a chance to explain rather than just attacking me outright..." The way Leon squeezed his arm told Demyx how unwelcome his commentary had been. He opened his mouth again to explain then thought better of it, "Ask him," he said, pointing to Sora. "I already explained it to that guy," he indicated Cid, "And he didn't believe me."

Leon frowned and kept a firm, painful grip on Demyx's upper arm. "What is he talking about?" he asked the keyblade wielder. "Is the Nobody with you?" He sounded very doubtful.

Sora looked uncomfortable. "Sort of." He looked to his two companions for help. The duck scowled and Goofy shrugged. The spiky haired boy took a deep breath then tried to explain. "Demyx, uh his name is Demyx- he came up to me earlier today and wanted to fight me. He claimed that he can't go back to the Organization unless he beats me. I don't know if he's telling the truth or this is some kind of plan but I beat him easily. I almost killed him but I couldn't bring myself to finish him off."

Goofy helpfully added.,"Since he doesn't have anywhere to go now, he agreed to stay with us. This way we can keep an eye on him. We don't know what else to do with him, we're hoping the King might know."

"I have a few ideas," Leon suggested darkly.

At the other man's tone Demyx's self preservation instinct kicked in again. Manipulating water was much harder and less powerful without his sitar, but it was still possible. Demyx summoned as much water as he could and aimed it Leon's grip. A concentrated blast of water struck Leon's hand with as much force as the water mage could muster. Stunned, the warrior loosened his grasp. At the same time Demyx drove the elbow of his free arm into Leon's gut and used the man's surprise to yank his arm free. Aware that he was far from out of danger, Demyx moved closer to Sora. "Thanks for helping me out there," he commented sarcastically, "I totally didn't almost get killed by a gunblade or anything."

"We aren't going to help _you_," the duck shot back.

"But..." Demyx started scrambling with his thoughts, the whole reason he was following his enemies was so they'd protect him. They'd said they'd protect him, right?

Sora looked thoughtful. "You said I'd protect you from the Organization because I have to fight them anyways. But I never said anything about protecting you from people I wouldn't normally fight," he reasoned out.

"You have to face the consequences of your actions." Goofy oh-so-helpfully added.

"That's just uncool!" Demyx exclaimed. He was in real trouble here. Leon was advancing on him again and he was in no shape to fight. "Hey man, take it easy." He took a step back. "I don't want to fight you."

"Tough," was Leon's reply.

Demyx took another step back and hit the wall. "Really, we aren't even enemies. The Organization doesn't want Hollow Bastion, the elders try to avoid this world." This was only sort of true, but he would have to pray Leon bought it. Truthfully, most likely because they were originally from Hollow Bastion the elders were rather wary of it. To Demyx's knowledge, except for recon, the Organization had only gone to the world twice, and both times it was because Sora had gone there.

"The Organization attacked Hollow Bastion yesterday," Leon all but growled at him.

Already backed into a wall Demyx could go no further back. "Not really. It was that witch..." of all the times to forget her name, "...uh, her. She wanted her castle back so she sent the heartless army. We just came to make sure and collect the hearts."

"Your nobody minions attacked."

Demyx gave a sheepish smile. "That wasn't really the Organization. They were mine and they only attacked Sora's group. I was trying to buy a little time."

"Time for what?' Leon demanded sharply.

Demyx rubbed the back of his head. He didn't want to tell this hostile man. Leon wouldn't understand. But Demyx couldn't think of a good lie. "I just wanted more time. I wasn't so sure I could beat R-Sora. I was stalling," he admitted.

Before Leon or any other members of the Restoration Committee could reply the door opened again and a new person came it. "Sorry I'm late, when I got the message I was all the way-oh!" Her speech abruptly cut off as she noticed the scene she'd walked in on. The newcomer was a gentle looking girl in a pink dress. Demyx recognized her, she was a member of the Restoration Committee but not a fighter.

"He's hurt," she announced making her way over to where the Nobody stood against the wall. There was no mistaking her tone, Demyx actually heard compassion in her voice.

Leon placed a protective arm in front of the pink clad girl. "Aerith, stay back. It isn't safe."

She made face at him, jutting out her lower lip. "He's bleeding." At her words Demyx risked a glance down. No wonder he was feeling so weak, the bandages wrapped around his abdomen had changed in color with fresh blood. They were nearly soaked through. At some point during the exchange with Leon his wounds had started bleeding again.

"It's black blood; he's a Nobody," Leon told her.

"I know," Aerith replied, "But that doesn't mean I'm just going to stand here and let him bleed."

Demyx felt himself getting dizzy and braced himself against the wall. He'd been so preoccupied with keeping Leon from killing him that he hadn't noticed how badly he'd started bleeding. In front of him Leon and Aerith were having a staring contest. Sora, Donald and Goofy were watching them with some interest but it didn't appear they had any intention of interfering. "Give it up, Leon," Yuffie called from across the room. "You know Aerith is way more stubborn then you." Her tone was light and there was a hint of joking in her voice. Demyx, whose very life was possibly at stake, didn't think there was anything funny about the situation.

Without a heart, feeling anything, whether they were emotions or merely memories of emotions required conscious effort. Some of the other Organization members had never cared enough to bother putting in the necessary energy, but Demyx had always tried his hardest to feel. But now, he was too drained to bother. He stopped forcing himself to feel and let his Nobody state take over. The day had been so trying, and injured as he was, all of his power was being used to keep himself standing upright. He had nothing left to devote to feeling and truthfully no desire to feel. The end would be so much easier if he couldn't feel any fear or regret. The potion Xigbar had given him had completely worn off and now the pain was getting much worse. He found himself wishing that the pink clad woman would just stand aside and let Leon kill him. He had been crazy to think he could survive without the Organization. Maybe it was for the best. Was a quick death too much to wish for? Would Leon torture him first? He found was losing the energy to care and even his survival instinct was failing him. Demyx wobbled on his feet, no longer caring about what came next.

At last the stalemate ended. "Whatever," Leon grumbled moving away from his quarry.

Aetith moved in on her prize. "Come on," she told him a voice that left no room for arguments, "those bandages need to be changed." Taking Demyx's arm she led him away from the wall. He followed unresisting after her.

Aerith pushed Demyx into a chair. She worked quickly unwrapping his bandages and inspecting what lay beneath. At one point as she fingered a very distinctive gash and frowned to herself. It was clear from the shape that the keyblade had caused it. It looked for a moment like the brunette woman was going to comment on this, though to him or to Sora, Demyx wasn't sure. But instead she pursed her lips and applied a stinging antiseptic the cut.

While Aerith worked, the others had gathered at the opposite end of the small house and were talking in low tones. Demyx could take one guess as to what they were discussing. He ignored them and focused on not crying out when the antiseptic was applied to each and every one of the multiple cuts decorating his body. The healer had started with the his chest but eventually removed his coat and moved on the to fresh claw marks on his shoulder wiping away the blood. Aerith hummed to her herself as she worked and Demyx found that even in his drained state the musician in him appreciated the melody.

"No magic," Leon's voice suddenly rang out, disrupting Aerith's pleasant hum, "no potions either. You can bind his wounds, but let them heal on their own."

Aerith frowned at Leon's harsh words but made no reply. Silence descended on the odd pair as she went back to work. Across the room the discussion finished. The others walked over toward him with Leon and another fighter, Cloud, who must have entered when Demyx wasn't paying attention, at the front. "Demyx," Leon said in a stern voice, "Sora tells me your name is Demyx. He has assured me you're not a threat, but if you take one step out of line or if the Organization so much as threatens Hollow Bastion, you will regret it. Understand?" When Demyx didn't answer Leon repeated more forcefully, "_Understand_?"

"Yes." The Nobody dared to look Leon in the eyes as he replied.

"Good." The confrontation out of the way, everyone prepared to settle down for the night. Not trusting him in the slightest, the Restoration Committee had decided to take shifts in watching him just in case he had some super evil plan up his sleeve for while everyone was asleep. His plans for the night were actually to get a restful sleep in the hope that his injuries would feel better in the morning, but if the Restoration Committee wanted to spend their night taking turns watching a Nobody sleep, who was he to discourage them. Besides he knew his protests would just fall on deaf ears. As long he lacked a heart he might as well have had "evil guy- do not trust me" stamped on his forehead.

He closed his eyes and relaxed. The picture of Xaldin fading came into his mind unbidden. Eyes shooting open, Demyx took in the sight of Leon, whom had taken first watch, staring him down and made a startled noise. Shifting in an attempt to get comfortable and wincing when he moved his injured stomach, Demyx frowned. "Are you going to spend the whole night staring at me while I sleep? It's creepy."

There was nothing but hostility in Leon's reply. "Don't give me those lies, you can't feel. You don't know what creepy feels like."

Demyx found he didn't have the energy to argue. "Whatever," he replied and set to work carefully shifting and turning till he was lying on his side facing the wall away from Leon. He tried his best to ignore the eyes he could feel burning holes in the back of his head. He concentrated on the feeling of lying on the sand of a warm beach. He relaxed his body and mind thinking only of gentle sea breezes and the sound of waves lapping against the shore. Only when he was fully mentally on the beach did he dare to close his eyes and drift off.

* * *

If it seems like Leon gave up too easily, the Restoration Committee isn't done with Demyx yet...


End file.
